Suction cleaner



C. H. TAYLOR SUCTION CLEANER Aug. -l, 1939.

Filed se t. 4, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORN EY Charles i .2- k4 g 1, 1939- c. H. TAYLOR 2,167 ,786

SUCTION CLEANER Filed Sept. 4, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Gimrles HI 75510! ATTORNEY Patented until, 1939 orric SUCTION CLER- Charles H. Taylor; Springfield, Mesa, assignor to The Hoover Company, North Canton, mile, a corporation oi Ohio Application September a, 1937, Serial No. 162,423

3 Claims. (01. 183-63) This invention relates to improvement in sucl and the filter unit l are directly connected with tion' cleanvs, more particularly a suction cleaner and supported upon an extension of the armaof the portable type wherein the dirt separation ture shaft of the motor 2. is fifl p s y means of a fill/Bl Scree As clearly shown in Figure 1 the forward end 5 toting at a high speed and preferably positioned or apex of the conical filter unit l is positioned ediately ahead of the suction creating ian. centrally or the internal discharge outlet to The object of the invention is to provide a sucfrom the nozzle 6, this discharge outlet opening tion cleaner in which it is possible to edectively rearwardly into the large chamber surrounding remove the dirt particles from the incoming air the filter unit with the space thereloelow lormto stream by means of a rotating filter screen oi ing a relatively large receptacle for the dirt rew a comparatively limited area. and thus dispense moved from the incoming air stream hr the illwith the use of the usual filter bag into. which ter unit. the dirt-laden air is discharged. 7 Figure 3 reveals the casing ll as a unit detach- And a further object of the invention is to able bodily from the main body oi the cleaner 15 provide an emcient filter unit, capable of perand parted in a vertical plane coinciding sublorinine eflectivelv over-long periods of to stantially with the base of the conical filter without becoming clogged or requiring frequent memloer. More definitely, there is provided at removal for cleaning or renewal. the forward end of the main casing i or the Other novel. and meritorious features of the cleaner, a vertically arranged wall having a 2o invention will hereinafter be disclosed and in radially projecting flange do against which the W connection with'thc mp nv ns drawincs. in rear edge of the casing it has tight sealing conwhich: V v tact. The casino ii is further held securely in Figure l is a general view in side elevation of rlace by a pair or clamping bolts ill, iii one cara suction cleaner embodying the novel features rieol on each side or the casino t and adapted 25 ot the invention with the nozsle arid filter por-- to engage a corresponding mr t h 333?,

tions of the cleaner shown in vertical section, it, i l integralwlth the radial fiance l icure 2 is a top plan view oi the cleaner The cleaner loody is supported upon a pair of: showing its general designand arrangement, lront wheels it, it and rear wheels it and Flame 3 is another view in side elevation lint furthermore, is maneuvered over the carpet surto showing the nozzle and filter casing detached lace hr means oi a handle, only the lower end oi rill and partially removed from the main loody oil the r a U-shaped handle hail id lacing illustrated. cleaner, and Moreover, the mounting of the supporting wheels l itmre i is a perspective view oi the several including means for vertically adjustine one pair p s m a up the rota y fil t e se to raise and lower the nozzle with respect to to parts heing separated in the direction oi their the door surface, is so common in suction cleanso common aids. er design that these details willloe omitted.

c suction clean r em yin he presen in- Referring now in greater detail to the filter vention is preferably of the horizontal motor unit i it is to he noted that the suction charnt wherein the motor, ion and, in thm inher i is separated from the space enclosed lay to stance. the filter member extend horizontally the forward casing t by an annular segment in do and lengthwise oi the cleaner. oi the forward wall it oithe inain casing i, this its c ear y Shown in Figures. 1 mid llhellolll? segment having a slight forward bulge whichol the cleaner cons st of a l' n inc carries its central portion a short distance into or cosine 55 W t which the M01301 l is w the space surrounded by the basal portion oi the it. metrically mounted; the forward portion oi the filter unit l. at the center oi? this partition wall casino l constituting the fan charuher d in which is an annular opening illu concentric with the is the motor-driven suction ian Immediately aris of the shalt d and rotating parts carried ahead of the cylindric casing l is a somewhat lthereby. This annular opening or fan eye is larger casing t oi a rounded or hulloous iormathe passage through which the filtered air enters til tlcn' supporting at its ioiwvard end alaterallv the 'lan chamber 3, to be thence dispersed radii ll diverging noazle portion t. Tl'ie main portion ally outward and finally discharged in a rear oi the cosine. surrounds a conical shape filter ward direction through ports extending unit l which is supported at the iorward,end of around the periphery of the tan chamber and a shaft ll which also serves as the motor and intoan annular space between the motor and to ion shaft or, to put it in another way, the ion the surrounding wall of the casing i and formthe fan chamber and which ultimately is discharged into the atmosphere through groups of slots l1, "located at the rear and on thevsides of the ;motor casing i.

As clearly shown in Figures 1 and 4 the filter unit per se consists primarily of a two-part skeleton frame, having the form of a conical shaped spider supporting a layer of filtering material. The inner frame member I! has an annular ring i8a at its base supporting a tripod with a threaded stem l8b at its apex. On the bottom face of the ring l8a-is a group of three concentric annular flanges IS' adapted to fit in a complementary group of annular grooves formed in the face of the front wall 9 of the main casing I. The purpose of these interfitting flanges and grooves is to create or form an air seal be tween the base of the filter member and the adjacent wall of the casing to prevent the short circuiting of dust-laden air around the filter and into the fan chamber.- Such a seal is ordinarily termed a, labyrinth seal and is commonly used for this purpose.

Continuing now with the description of the filter unit per se, a screen of fine filtering material 2| of suitable grade and quality is preferably preshaped into conical form to fit over the inner frame member, with an aperture Zia at its apex to receive the threaded stem i8b of said frame member I 8. And finally, an outer frame member 22,- conforming generally to the. shape and contour of the inner frame member ii! is fitted over the conical screen II and the entire assembly joined together as a unit by applying a nut 23 onto the threaded stem i8b, with a suitable lock if necessary.

With the filter unit thus assembled and mounted upon the shaft I as clearly shown in Figure 1, it is comparatively easy to visualize the cleaning action when the cleaner is in operation. Manifestly, the suction created by the fan I rotating at a high speed draws the air into the nozzle 6 and toward the surface of the filtering unit but at an acute angle, thereto. Since the filter unit is rotating at a substantially high speed, that is, at the same speed as the fan, there is created around the filter a movement of air travelling at high speed and in a circular pathso that the dirt particles approaching the filter unit are caught in this whirling strata of air and the direction of movement of at least a substantial portionof these particles is altered with the result that a certain proportion thereof will be thrown outwardly by centrifugal force and eventually will fall into the dirt collecting receptacle at the bottom of the casing I. Howevena certain amount of the dirt will be carried into contact with the surface of the filter screen 2i only to be deflected outwardly withoutadhering to or becoming lodged in the filter'material. 1 Thus it will be seen that the effect of the high speed of rotation of the filter unit is to create a condition wherein thesame is substantially self-cleaning. That is, to say, the speed of rotation is such that the centrifugal force acting on the dirt particles prevents them from clogging the filtering material. Thus, it is assumed that the dirt entering through the nomle is entirely removed fromthe air stream by the filter with the result that only cleanair is discharged into the fan chamber and thence into the atmosphere from the rear end of the main casing I. J

It is important to observe that efilcient performance of a dirt removing filter of the character herein disclosed is largely dependent upon the utilization of high motor speeds, that is. speedssufiiciently great to remove a portion of the dirt particles from the incoming air stream by centrifugal force imparted to such particles upon entering the zone immediately surrounding the filter member andconsisting of a strata or layer of air moving at a high rate of speed and impelled by the filter. Moreover, the speed of the filter member should be sufilciently great to insure the self-cleaning action, whereby the dirt particles, actually coming into contact with the filter surface and which otherwise would tend to cling thereto and eventually clog the filtering material, would be thrown outwardly by centrifugal force and thus maintain the filter in a comparatively clean condition for operation during long periods of time without attention or renewal.

And in this connection it may be advantageous point or throughout an area least exposed to contact with the incoming dirt-laden air stream.

' Thus, referring to Figure 1 there will be observed at the lower edge of the front wall I of the fan chamber, an arcuate slot 24 forming an opening directly from the lower portion ofthe fan chamber into the lower portion of the space enclosed by the conical shaped filter member 1.

Moreover, just rearwardly; of the slot is a segment 2 formed by a thin metal flange attached to the inner surface'of the fan chamber and so arranged as to divert a substantial amount of the air ex-v pelled from the fan chamber 3 from its normal direction of discharge in a rearward direction. forwardly through the slot 2| thence outwardly through that portion of the filter surface im- 'mediately in front of the slot, as indicated by the arrows. This'eounterfiow of air through theslot 24 is maintained constantly to assist in keeping the filter material free of dirt particles and thus contribute directly to the increased life and efficient performance of the filtering unit.

To summarize briefly the principal features of the method of dirt ration hereinbeforedescribed, it will be observed that the separating action is a combination of centrifugal force and filtration, that is to say, the filter unit driven at high speed, sets up a zone of centrifugal separation around the filter unit wherein a substantial portion'of the dirt is removed from the air stream without any accompanying physical contact with the filter itself. whereupon such dirt particles as are not separated by centrifugal action are filteredout,sotospeak,as theairpassesthrough the filtering material. Consequently, it is only necessary to provide a filter unit having a single i. In a dirt-separating system, the combination of a tan chamber, a dirt collecting chamber con- .nected with said Ian chamber through an inlet opening, a motor driven' ion mounted in said fan chamber, and a dirt-separating member driven by said motor and comprising a rigid screen mounted to rotate within said collecting chamber and to enclose a space surrounding said inlet opening, and means fol-directing a counterflow of air from said fan chamber into the space enclosed a by. said screen and against a portion of its internal surlace. a v

2. In a dirt-separating system, the combination of a iancharnber, a dirt collecting chamber connected with said an chamber through an inlet opening, a motor-driven shaft extending axially of said fan chamber and through said inlet opening into said collecting chamber, a ran mounted on said shaft within said ian chamber, a dirtseparatingmember mounted in said collecting chamber comprising a rigid frame mounted on said shait with its marginal portion in sealing engagement around said inlet opening, and a,

screen removably supported on said name, and.

means for creating a counterflow of air through an auxiliary opening oflset from said inlet opening and counlcating with the pressure area within said ran chamber,

3. In a dirt-separating system, the combination of a fan chamber, a dirt-collecting chamber con nected with said tan chamber through an inlet opening, a motor-driven fan in said Ian chamber and having a shalt extending axially through said inlet opening into said collecting chamber, a

i'an mounted on said shaft within said fan chamscreen, and a battle member acting to divert a portlon of the air delivered by said fan through said auxiliary opening.

' CHARLES H. TAYLOR. 

